The game features cybernetic Action Girl and Third-Person Seductress Vanessa Z. Schneider, who uses palm shots and energy drives combined with acrobatic moves or while standing still gyrating or wiggling her bottom to destroy robots in a range of Apple-chic futuro-minimalist facilities. Impressively, all of her animations were handcrafted.

The game wasn't altogether well-received when it was released in September 9, 2003 in North America, with most critics and players considering it to be mediocre. Sales were remarkably poor, with less than 30,000 sold worldwide. The below-average reception for a Capcom 5 title was due in no small part due to a difficult development process in which project lead Mikami reportedly had a difficult time caring about it and the team couldn't agree on the "true" title (its development title was Jaguar, reflected by a trailer where she makes catlike movements). The features ended up being as minimalistic as the architecture, as due to the extended development cycle many features were dropped. The game engine, some music, and some of the mechanics were later used in Resident Evil 4.

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Much of the team later split from Capcom to form PlatinumGames, who developed Vanquish and Bayonetta, games that, respectively, take one of the conflicting directions of this game (Robot fighting third person shooter and kinetic hypersexuality) and made, overall, more satisfying wholes.

Examples:

All There in the Manual: Little of the background is mentioned in game, but you play a mercenary hired by the military to investigate an AI defense system gone haywire.

Artificial Stupidity: The enemies spawn as predetermined types in predetermined locations. You know immediately on entering a room through prior experience what you are facing. The enemies also attack in predetermined patterns. Which makes sense, since they are robots.

Awesome, but Impractical: Many of the overdrives are super flashy and over the top but do pitiful damage and in some cases can miss the target entirely!

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Boring, but Practical: Tengu and the upgraded version, Tengu Pro. Doubles your shot power, but most importantly gives temporary invincibility. The ability to ignore an enemy's attacks and just fire away can come close to a Game-Breaker if used correctly. Two Tengu Pro stringed back to back is enough to kill the final boss on Normal with a fully upgraded Palm Shot.

The Black Aegis Suit is the first suit that allows for maximum upgrades in all categories and has access to Tengu Pro, Pegasus Pro and Swan Pro, three of the best overdrives in the game.

Ducking. Quite a few enemies are incapable of aiming up or down so a simple duck will avoid all incoming fire. Additionally, rooms can have trenches which when jumped into allow you to avoid incoming beam attacks with a duck.

Bullet Hell: The bosses tend towards this, though unlike pure bullet hell games there is architecture to hide behind. The last boss is a pure example, and beating him involves learning the patterns to his attacks.

Button Mashing: The early Aegis Suits require lots, though later ones can be upgraded to fully automatic fire. Through New Game+ all the suits can be upgraded this way.

Cut-and-Paste Environments: The trial missions are a bunch of random rooms strung together. Late in the game the randomizer loves to string multiple T-shaped intersections together, making it very easy to get lost.

Dance Battler: Even though it's a shooter, Vanessa use lots of dance-like moves like cartwheels, twirls, and poses when dodging and firing. It gets a little gratuitous when she fires automatic blasts while shaking her butt. Even her idle animation has her bobbing her head and tapping her foot to a steady beat.

Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Dying simply dumps you out of the storyline or trial mission you were in - you get to keep the points you accumulated before death.

Do Not Run with a Gun: Vanessa has to be standing still to fire. The game's Scrappy Mechanic to some, and the big reason why people have a hard time playing it - ironically, the exact same mechanism so lauded in Resident Evil 4. The strict segregation of movement and attacking define the way the game plays.

This only applies to the control stick, not the dodge buttons.

Difficulty Levels: You really should play the game on Easy to get the hang of the enemies and controls.

Level Grinding: Doing the trial missions over and over for points to upgrade the Aegis Suits makes the game much easier.

Multiple Endings: Beating the game on Easy gives the standard ending. Beating the game on Normal or Hard adds an additional cutscene after the ending. Beating the game with the Papillion Suit treats the player to a Shower Scene.

Palette Swap: The basic enemy type, the Pilz, all look the same outside of the color. Their attacks vary depending on what color they are. The Aegis Suits themselves are all different colored versions of the same model, with one exception.

Point Build System: The Aegis suits are both buyable and upgradable through the points scored in both the storyline and the side missions.

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